OFFSTAGE: No, Luke Bryan Isn’t Drunk Onstage

(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that’s happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)

We’ve all seen country stars taking a swig out of a bottle of Jack Daniel’s onstage. But are they really getting drunk? Luke Bryan isn’t.

He told the Huffington Post
that what’s usually in his stage cup is just water, maybe some hot tea or sometimes a little Maker’s Mark because “a little bit of whiskey will clear your throat.” But he says there is no way he could get away with any excessive drinking.

“It’s pretty much impossible to drink,” Bryan said. “People are like, ’Man, do you get drunk before you go out?’ and I’m like, ’Well, do you get drunk before you go to the gym?’ It’s kind of counterproductive to get drunk, and that’s not very professional in my opinion.” Good call.

He also tells the site what he thinks of that old “country and western” stereotype. “I’m not knockin’ country or western, but people look at me and they’re like, ’Oh you’re a country western singer?’ and I’m like, ’Well, I would say I’m not much western here.’ I don’t know, I think every genre has stereotypes,” he said. “You assume a rock artist is a drug addict, you assume a country artist is rolled out from under the trailer.”